Firetable, accessories and method of cooking thereon

ABSTRACT

A fire table provides an aesthetic table surface while allowing for cooking over the fire using a removable cooking mount. The removable cooking mount is placed in a pan in an opening in the top of the fire table. The pan has a filler material to hide the burner assembly and acts to secure the removable cooking mount. A lazy susan can be used to cover the opening in the fire table when not in use for aesthetic and functional purposes.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) toprovisional application No. 61/616,581, filed on Mar. 28, 2012, and toU.S. Pat. No. 10,624,920, filed on Jan. 39, 2013, under 35 U.S.C. § 120,both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

Fire tables are a relatively recent addition to the home landscape andback yard gathering place. There have been other containers in whichhomeowners have been able to build a fire to sit around: chimineas, firepits dug in the ground, outdoor fireplaces, etc. While these may work inspecific situations, they do not allow a family to gather around them totalk, share, and even have a meal. And once the fire goes out, they cannot be used for anything else and are usually an eyesore. Thus, a placeis needed where people can have an outdoor fire, gather and be able toenjoy family and friends and use the facilities even after the fire hasgone out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a fire table adapted to be used forcooking as well as for heat and aesthetics that includes a base defininga storage space therein, a top mounted to and covering at least aportion of the base; the top having an upper surface and an openingtherein and in communication with the storage space within the base, apan disposed within the opening in the top, the pan configured to hold aburner and filler material, and a removable cooking mount, the removablecooking mount configured to be disposed within the pan, the removablecooking mount having four sides, each of the four sides having at leastone opening therein to allow air to pass from outside the removablecooking mount to fuel a fire within the pan, and openings in a top sideand bottom side for access to the fire for cooking elements placed onthe top side of the removable cooking mount.

In some embodiments, the fire table includes a lazy susan, the lazysusan capable of being disposed in and covering at least a portion ofthe filler material when the fire table is being used as a table.

In some embodiments, the cooking elements include at least one of theelements selected from the group of a griddle, a dutch oven, a wok and asalt slab.

In some embodiments, the removable cooking mount is configured to bedisposed within the filler material in the pan.

In another aspect, the invention is directed to a cooking set forcooking edible food over an open flame in an interior portion of a tablethat includes a removable cooking mount, the removable cooking mountconfigured to be disposed within the inner portion of the table, theremovable cooking mount having four sides, each of the four sides beingconnected to an adjacent side and each side having at least one openingtherein to allow air to pass from outside the removable cooking mount tofuel a fire therein, and openings in a top side and bottom side thereof,and at least one cooking element to be supported by the top portions ofthe each of the sides of the removable cooking mount and above theopening in the top side of the removable cooking mount, the at least onecooking element includes at least one of the elements selected from thegroup of a griddle, a dutch oven, a wok and a salt slab.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe detailed description which follows and, in part, will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognizedby practicing the invention as described herein, including the detaileddescription, the claims, and the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present embodiments of theinvention are intended to provide an overview or framework forunderstanding the nature and character of the invention as it isclaimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated into and constitutea part of this specification. The drawings illustrate variousembodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles and operations of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fire table with a removable cookingmount according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the fire table of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a removable cookingmount according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a close perspective view of the removable cooking mount ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 4A is an perspective view of an alternative embodiment of aremovable cooking mount according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the fire table of FIG. 1 with agriddle on the removable cooking mount;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the fire table of FIG. 1 with adutch oven on the removable cooking mount;

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of the fire table of FIG. 1 with awok on the removable cooking mount;

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of the fire table of FIG. 1 with asalt block on the removable cooking mount;

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of the fire table of FIG. 1 with alazy susan in the center of the fire table with the lazy susan coveringthe pan;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the removable cooking mount of FIG. 3with a wind shield to protect the flame in the fire table; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a fire table with another alternativeembodiment of a removable cooking mount according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiment(s) of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numeralswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a fire table 100 is illustrated. The firetable 100 has a base 102 that is illustrated as having a squareconfiguration. The base 102 may be of any appropriate configuration,including, for example, rectangular, round, hexagonal and/or oval. Thebase 102 preferably has a door 104 or other opening to reveal a storagespace 106 within the base 102. Alternatively, the storage space 106 doesnot need to have a door 104 but the storage space could be open withouta covering and still be within the scope of the present invention. Thestorage space 106 can be used to store and hide a fuel source, such asLP, methane, etc. (not shown), and the cooking implements noted in moredetail below. If the user wanted to cover the fire table 100 duringnon-use, a cover could also be stored within the storage space 106. Thebase 102 can be made from a variety of materials, including, forexample, aluminum, steel, wood, composite materials, concrete and stone.

The fire table 100 also has a top 110 mounted to the base 102, the top110 having an opening 112 in the top 110 to allow for the functionalpart of the fire table 100 to work. The top 110 is illustrated as beingsquare, but it could have any appropriate shape. Those shapes include,for example, rectangular, round, hexagonal and oval. While for aestheticpurposes, it would be best to have the shape of the top 110 be the sameas the base 102, they may have very different shapes. The opening 112 intop 110 preferably has the same shape as the top 110, but again they maybe different depending on the user's own tastes and configurations ofthe components placed in the opening 112.

The top 110 may be made of any of a number of appropriate materials,including but not limited to natural stone, aluminum, stainless steel,concrete, and glass. The top 110 may be chosen to match the user'stastes and surrounding decor so that the fire table 100 becomes a partof the decor and not an eyesore. The top 110 preferably has sufficientarea between the outside edge 114 and the opening 112 to be usable as atable top. The actual size of the top 110 may depend on any planned useas well as the number of people who may be attempting to sit around thefire table 100 comfortably.

In the opening 112 is a pan 120 that is used to hold the burner assembly124 and the filler material 122. See FIG. 4. The pan 120 is made ofstainless steel and may be made to fit within the opening 112 in the top110. The pan 120 may also have a powder coat finish of most any colorand will help to protect the pan 120.

The filler material 122 (see FIG. 4) is used to hide the burner assemblyand to provide for a more aesthetically pleasing view of the fire table100. The filler material 122 is also used to prevent the removablecooking mount 130 (FIG. 3) from sliding around in the pan 120 asdiscussed in more detail below. The filler material 122 may be stones orglass (generally glass beads).

One embodiment of a removable cooking mount 130 according to the presentinvention is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The cooking mount 130preferably has four sides 132, each of the four sides having an opening134 therein to allow air to flow and feed a flame from the burnerassembly. However, there could be more or fewer sides and still fallwithin the scope of the present invention. The openings 134 in each ofthe sides 132 may be of the same or different sizes. See, e.g., FIG. 4A.The bottom 136 is preferably open to allow the flame to extend upwardinto a center portion 138 of the cooking mount 130. The top 140 may beopen as illustrated to allow for the heat to rise fully through theremovable cooking mount 130, but have a portion 148 to support cookingutensils placed on the top 140 of the cooking mount 130. As illustrated,the portion 148 is preferably a circular portion, but may be of anyappropriate shape. In fact, the top 140 may be partially open (i.e.,small openings 142 as illustrated in FIG. 4A or just a few openings thatmay be larger or smaller than illustrated in FIG. 4A), or may even betotally closed. The top 140 is preferably sized so that the top surfaces144 will support cooking utensils as discussed in more detail below. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, the bottom edges 146 are wider than the topsurfaces 144 so that removable cooking mount 130 is somewhat pyramidalin shape. However, as illustrated in an alternative embodiment of aremovable cooking mount 230 in FIG. 10, the top and bottom may be thesame size.

The bottom edges 146 should be sized such that the removable cookingmount 130 is able to be placed in the pan 120 and the filler material122. By placing the removable cooking mount 130 in the filler material122, the removable cooking mount 130 will be more solid and will notmove while the cooking utensils are being used and possibly cause aproblem with the food being cooked.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5-8, a skillet 150, a dutch oven 152, a wok 154,and a salt slab 156, respectively, are illustrated as being a cookingutensil that is used with the removable cooking mount 130 and can beused to cook food with the flame from the fire table 100. Naturally, theremovable cooking mount 130 can be removed totally and other food (forexample, marshmallows or even hot dogs) could be cooked over the openflame. While some of the cooking utensils are illustrated as beingwithin the top surfaces 144 (dutch oven 152), others may sit on top ofthe cooking mount 130 (wok 154 and salt slab 156). Additionally othercooking utensils not illustrated or shown could also be used with thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a lazy susan 160 that is placed over the pan 120 andthe filler material 122 (after the fire table 100 has cooled) to allowthe fire table 100 to be used more like a regular table. Again, the lazysusan 150, while illustrated as being the same configuration as the firetable 100 and the top 110 and opening 112, could have any shape. Thelazy susan could also be replaced with just a cover to protect and hidethe pan 120 and the filler material 122.

FIG. 10 illustrates the removable cooking mount 130 with a removablewind shield 170. The removable wind 170 is configured to be placed overthe removable cooking mount 130 and to cover or block the openings 134.If the firetable 100 is to be used outside and it happens to be somewhatwindy, the wind could affect the flame from underneath, not heatingevenly or as rapidly as needed. The removable wind shield 170 isconfigured the same as the upper portion of the removable cooking mount130 so that is sits on top of the outer surface thereof. It should benoted that the removable cooking mount 130 may also have smalleropenings 172 in the bottom portion of the four sides 132, which in thefigures is illustrated as “FIRETAINMENT,” assignee of the presentapplication. The openings 172 allow air to get into the center portion138 of the cooking mount 130 to provide oxygen for the flame, even whenthe removable wind shield 170 is in place. The openings 172 may alsohave other configurations, allow for personalization or simply beopenings.

FIG. 11 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a removable cookingmount 230. The removable cooking mount 230 has four sides 232, each ofthe four sides 232 having an opening 234 therein to allow air to flowand feed a flame from the burner assembly. The openings 234 in each ofthe sides 232 are illustrated to be different sizes, but may also be thesame size. The fours sides 232 are all the same size: top, bottom, andsides, making the removable cooking mount 230 a square shape, ratherthan the pyramidal shape of the other embodiment.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus it isintended that the present invention cover the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

We claim:
 1. A fire table adapted to be used for cooking as well as forheat and aesthetics comprising: a base defining a storage space therein;a top mounted to and covering at least a portion of the base, the tophaving an upper surface and an opening therein and in communication withthe storage space within the base; a pan disposed within the opening inthe top, the pan having at least a portion thereof over the uppersurface of the top and configured to hold a burner; and a removablecooking mount, the removable cooking mount configured to be disposedwithin the pan, the removable cooking mount having four sides, each ofthe four sides having at least one opening therein to allow air to passfrom outside the removable cooking mount to fuel a fire within the pan,and openings in a top side and bottom side for access to the fire forcooking elements placed on the top side of the removable cooking mount.2. The fire table according to claim 1, wherein the cooking elementsinclude at least one of the elements selected from the group of agriddle, a dutch oven, a wok and a salt slab.
 3. The fire tableaccording to claim 1, wherein a fuel supply can be disposed in thestorage space in the base and in fluid communication with the burner inthe pan to fuel a fire within the pan.
 4. The fire table according toclaim 1, wherein the removable cooking mount is configured to bedisposed within filler material in the pan.
 5. The fire table accordingto claim 1, wherein the top functions as a table around the pan andcooking mount.
 6. The fire table according to claim 1, furthercomprising a lazy susan, the lazy susan capable of being disposed in andcovering at least a portion of the pan and the filler material when thefire table is being used as a table.
 7. The fire table according toclaim 4, wherein the filler material is glass.
 8. The fire tableaccording to claim 1, wherein the pan extends through the opening in thetop and into the storage space in the base.
 9. The fire table accordingto claim 1, wherein the top is mounted directly to the base.